Your Grrrs: Nov. 15, 2005

Jay C. in California (but N.Y.-bound): Mike, what’s happening? I just got back from a great trip down toCosta Rica and ran into what might be some of the worst flight attendants that I have ever seen. I was on American and I swear these attendants think they are goddesses of the heavens. They rarely smile, act like every request is a huge deal and god forbid you disagree with them on if your baggage can fit in the overhead compartment. One guy almost got thrown off because he was rearranging the luggage! His bag ended up fitting but the attendant decided to give him a snide comment. She said “well it seems like your persistence has paid off, but I do not need the lip from you and will not take it!” He simply told her that he was going to try and get the bag to fit. Because of tenure, all four of the attendants were at least 60+ years old and just droned along the plane like it was the worst day of their lives. Whatever happened to being welcomed by smiling faces and people not even willing, but WANTING to make your flight a great experience. It irritated me so much that I just had to throw it at you as a possible GRRRRR.

Wayne from cyberspace: All these different nations that go around bashing the U.S. I get so sick and tired of my tax dollars going out in foreign aid to countries that hold protests against us and burn our flag.

Anthony from Chattanooga: This is for Jennifer from Oklahoma City ... who apparently hates vegetarians. Grrr! to those who treat vegetarians like alien beings from another planet. "You don't eat meat? How do you get this or that vitamin!?" (Go check out who live the longest and have a better quality of life. It's vegetarians. Thanks!) And worse, "You don't eat meat? How about chicken or fish?" Ugh. No thank you ... we don't eat anything that's ever had eyes or a mother. I don't really care that people eat meat, I still love them and it's their choice; I think PETA is for idiots. But I guess we better call Jennifer a meat-eater ImporTant, because she can eat whatever she wants ... whether it's been fed steroids, de-beaked), or tortured in a tiny cell. (How proud you must be!) Grrrr!

Buzz from Pennsylvania: My most recent grrr is being forced to watch that annoying FBI warning on DVDs! In the days of VHS, you could simply fast forward through this annoyance. These days that is impossible with the advent of preset recordings that do not allow you to bypass it. I understand the need for such a warning but does the Motion Picture Association really think that everyone has the reading speed of a 3rd grader? I spent good money to watch a movie, not some government gibberish! Everyone knows it is not legal to make copies!

Tracey from cyberspace: The noisy eaters are my biggest GRRRRRR. Ignoring slurping strangers and offending lip-smacking family members is one thing, but how do you handle it when it comes from a casual acquaintance like your co-worker with whom you share an office with? And what if they CONSTANTLY are eating? Mine eats something every five minutes. Almonds are her favorite. CHOMP, CHOMP, SMACK, CHOMP. She even manages to make drinking water a noisy event. I want earplugs for Christmas!

Kirsten from Hoboken, N.J.: Grrr about the morons coming off the PATH in Hoboken who literally just walk into traffic while talking on their cells phones without ever looking at traffic. I understand that pedestrians have the right of way, but one must stop to see if they are about to get hit by my VW Golf.

Deana from Georgia: One of my big Grrrs is incorrect grammar that has passed into acceptability by constant usage, like when someone uses the word "your" for "you're", or "alot" instead of "a lot." Having been an English major in college, things like that really bug me! I once saw the word "yield" spelled as "yeild" in big yellow letters PAINTED ON THE ROAD at an intersection! It was all I could do to pass by there without getting a can of red paint and "correcting" the error. My discomfort was finally eased when I drove by one day and noticed that it had been corrected.

Robbin from Jackson, Miss.: My GRRR lately has been waiters/waitresses! What is the deal with asking “do you need change back”? I recently went to lunch at a popular restaurant and my bill was a few cents less than $20. All I had was a $20 bill and a $5 bill, no ones. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but 15 percent of $20 is only $3, right? So, even though she did not bring our meal out and I had to look for her to get more tea, she picked up my ticket and money, looked at the total and then asked me, do you want change? YES, I do. Thank you! I did leave her the $3 but I just could not justify leaving her a $5 or more tip!

Kelly from cyberspace: My Grrr goes out about the National Christmas Tree. Every year at this time, thousands, maybe millions are spent to find, chop down and transport “the National Christmas tree” to Washington, D.C. Is this necessary? I am all for celebrating the holidays. But can’t we just plant a tree and decorate the same one each year — watch it grow and thrive and monitor that growth over the years? I just heard that not only has the current National Tree been located — it will be going “on tour” as it makes its way back to Washington, D.C. We really don't need the National Tree on tour.

Carl from cyberspace: My Grrr is to all the people who keep telling me if I don't like the gas prices, get a smaller car. Well, folks, just how am I supposed to haul my six kids in a Chevette? I live deep in the country, we have no mass transit, I work 35 miles from my home and I need a large vehicle to get my family around. Gas prices over $1.50, let alone $3 a gallon are outrageous. I'm all for capitalism, but the oil companies can charge what they want because we have no choice. I have to drive to the store, and work, and I have to heat my home.

Randall from cyberspace: My Grrrr is for the obliviots who think it is funny to either drain or dilute the liquid soap dispensers in the showers at the local gym. What’s up with these no-brain people? Do they really believe that it is OK to mess up the soap for everyone else because they paid for a membership? Or is it that they so detest soap and being clean that they want to make it difficult for those of us who want to wash away our sweat before going back to work or home, so they eliminate our opportunity to be clean and smell decent? “Hey, Billy Bob Jack, ya know what I done at the gym today? I messed up the soap, hahahaha.” Doh -- grow up!

Christian from Reno, N.V.: I don't feel sorry for Terrell Owens. Philadelphians work hard for their money. As if the $8 million signing bonus was not enough to "feed his family," I guess he is now going to have an auction. You will now be auctioned off to any team that doesn't care about their players, so grrr T.O. and bye bye T.O. I'm not sorry to see you go. Oh, I am so sorry you are gonna lose $258,000 a game, (yeah right), what a shame.

Cyndi Cuneo from Jupiter, Fla.: My grrr goes out to all those people who think it is appropriate to blow their nose at the dinner table ... they make bathrooms for such things. I have had many occasions where I was having a wonderful (and many times expensive) meal with friends and/or family and someone at a nearby table will begin blowing their nose. Sometimes multiple times. It is truly disgusting. It is usually older men (60+) who are doing the dastardly deed. Were these people raised by wolves? When did this become acceptable behavior?

Rachel from Gainesville, Fla.: My team at work is collecting food for Thanksgiving baskets, which we do every year. It is completely voluntary and no one is keeping track of who does or doesn't bring something. So why, oh, why is it that year after year people clean out their pantries and bring expired canned goods for the baskets? This year, someone brought cans of chicken broth that had been expired for a year, and the cans were visibly corroded and rusty around the pop-top opening. This would be grrring enough, but today I found yogurt on the break room table with a "help yourself" sign, and sure enough it was two months expired! These Obliviots are trying to poison us all!

Ed from cyberspace: I lost all respect for Meryl Streep when she, years ago, appeared before Congress demanding they do something about the air quality in this country ... and then went outside for a cigarette break.

Wallace from cyberspace: Grrr! to the people who feel the need to buy an "upside-down" Christmas tree so there's room for more and bigger presents. They obviously don't know what Christmas is really about.

Amy from cyberspace: My Grrr! is to the people who think the only ones complaining about gas prices are the ones who drive “gas-guzzling SUVs”. I drive one of these, and I know what to expect at the pump. Increased gas prices are a part of life. I chose to buy the SUV, and I choose to pay the money to fill it up … with no complaints.

Jerry from California: I want to know what happened to removing your hat at the dinner table? I'm only 27 years old and I'm appalled to see men in their 30s and 40s wearing their hats at the table and allowing their children to do the same.

Allen from Baltimore: About table manners, I believe the problem stems from the fact that families rarely sit down at the table and eat together anymore. Kids are given a packet of Pop-Tarts and a juice box in their backpack and shoved out the door. School cafeterias are run like fast food joints and in some cases LITERALLY ARE FAST FOOD JOINTS. Every day at work around 4:30, I hear folks calling for pizza, Chinese carryout and other things kids can eat on their way to after-school activities. So nobody is ever in a sit-down situation where table manners are taught. Sadly, it is another example of the decline of civility in America.

Mike from Oregon, Ill.: My Grrr is about experts. It's impossible to watch a news broadcast or commentary without getting the benefit of a (self-proclaimed?) expert's knowledge. Just exactly what qualifies these people: some kind of Piled higher and Deeper degree? If there are so many experts, why is there such disagreement among them, and why aren't all the problems of the world already solved?